DERA GHAZI KHAN: Seraiki nationalist and chairman of the Pakistan Seraiki Awami Party, Akbar Khan Malkani, passed away on Saturday. He was 75.

Malkani was under treatment at a private hospital in Rawalpindi where he breathed his last.

His body was brought to D G Khan for burial at the graveyard adjacent to local general bus stand. He is survived by two sons, as many daughters and his widow.

Late Malkani’s political career spanned over some five decades. Inspired by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he joined the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and remained its staunch activist. For his struggle against Gen Zia’s martial law, he was jailed during the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in 1986.

Later, he became a Seraiki nationalist and formed his own Pakistan Seraiki Awami Party, remaining its chairman till his demise. Expressing sorrow over his death, Seraiki nationalist Ashiq Khan Buzdar said wasaib lost a staunch activist.

Zahoor Khan Dhareeja of the Seraiki National Council said wasaib had lost its son who waged political struggle for the rights of his people.

Late Malkani’s friend Advocate Malik Saleem Bhutta said: “With his [Malkani’s] death, we lost a great personality who had the skill to unite people for the Seraiki cause.”

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2022